Call Me Not
by Lyra Silvertongue2
Summary: Kurt/Kitty Insta-Fic done with several other authors. Kitty runs away and Kurt follows her. Much cuteness. Read and Review...I dare ya.


Here is an insta-fic done by myself, InterNutter, Amicitia, Scribbler, and Greg. I start. Entries by different people are separated by "~"s.  
Disclaimer: We own nothing, and, in fact, we're proud of the nothing we own.  
  
Copyright: Don't take any of ours and we won't take any of yours.  
  
~  
  
Kurt stalked down the hall towards his room. What was their problem, anyway? He only made three PBLTBJs. "Taking too much food," ha! As if they wouldn't take the same amount put together! Well, as long as they didn't know about his late-night snacks...   
And now he had to do his homework! Kurt grumbled aloud about the injustice of the world. Nearly at his room, now, but - what was that sound coming from Kitty's room? Kurt stopped in his tracks and edged closer to the door. It sounded almost like...muffled crying.   
Very gently, he knocked, and there was a pause in the crying. "Kitty, are you okay in there?" he asked softly.   
"Um, like," she started in a voice choked by emotion, "like, no!" There was another bout of crying.   
Taking the initiative, Kurt turned the doorknob and walked very cautiously inside. Kitty heard the noise and looked up from her pillow. Some of her hair had fallen out of her usual ponytail, and her face was red and blotchy. Kurt thought she looked beautiful that way - well, any way. "Do you - ah, do you want to talk about it?" He took another step.   
~  
He moved to sit beside her, and she leaned against him, sobbing into his shirt.   
"It's just...I...you know, it's like...psyche!" she shouted in his ear.   
Kurt toppled off the bed.   
"Psyche?" he said from the carpet. "Vas ist 'psyche'?"   
"I dunno, it's like, y'know, 'psyche'," Kitty shrugged.   
"Ah," Kurt righted himself. "Americanism."   
"Yeah, something like that."   
"So, er..."   
"I just wanted to see if anyone would notice me," Kitty fixed her hair in front of the mirror.   
"Was the screaming-in-my-ear part strictly necessary?"   
"Like, sorry," Kitty blotted her eyes with a tissue.   
Kurt scuffed his toes. "Are you feeling, um, ignored, or something?"   
"Me?" Kitty shrieked. Composing herself, she continued, "Nope. I'm fine. No problems!" She flashed him a smile. "I'm going to, like, wash up. See you later!"   
Ignoring the door handle, she phased out.   
Kurt stood there, wondering if the female species would ever consent to act reasonably.  
~  
The next day, nearly the same thing happened to Kurt. Well, not the whole thing with the PBLTBJ abuse (he made sure no one saw him, this time), but he once again found Kitty crying. But not in her room, this time - the bathroom. Instead of intruding on her once again to have her feign wellness, he decided to go for help...advice...   
"Jean?"   
"Hmm?" She looked up from her homework.   
"Ah - can I come in?"   
"Sure."   
"Uh...I have this friend, who has a friend," he started, sitting down on the bed. He paused in his speech for a second. "Promise not to read my mind?"   
Jean bit her lip, then said, "Sure, Kurt."   
"Well, this friend of a freund has been - um - crying, but she won't admit to it? And my friend doesn't know how to confront her about it."   
"Uh, what? Which friend is which?"   
"Okay, start over. My friend," he made a fist with his left hand, "has a friend," he made a fist with his right hand, "who's been crying." He lifted his right hand up to his eye and made the traditional 'boo-hoo' gesture by rubbing his fist against his closed eye. "*This* friend," the right fist was emphasized, "who has been crying, will not *admit* to having been *really* crying. And *this* friend," Kurt waved his left hand then curled it back into a fist, "wants to know how to confront her about it."   
"Ah." Jean paused for a long moment.   
"Well?"   
"Well...why doesn't your friend just tell his friend that he won't be her friend anymore if she doesn't 'fess up to crying?" Kurt looked confused. After a moment of thought, Jean dismissed this. "No, that won't work. How about you just tell your friend to tell his friend that he knows, as a friend, that she's been crying, and would like her to know that. In a friendly way." Once again, Kurt looked confused. Jean scoffed.   
"Tell your *friend,*" Jean's left fist was utilized, "to tell *his* friend," here the right fist was put into action, "that he knows that she's been crying, and would like her to know that. Got it?" Jean spread her hands.   
Nodding slowly, Kurt responded, "Okay. Good idea. Thanks, Jean!" He teleported out of the room. Jean rolled her eyes and returned to doing her homework.   
"Send Kitty my regards," she murmured to her math with a light smile.   
  
***   
  
"Kitty?" Kurt rapped lightly on the bathroom door. "Are you okay in there?" Whoa. Like deja vu all over again.[1]   
Kitty abruptly stopped crying, and there was a mild sniffling inside. "Yes. I'm, like, fine."   
"Well, can I come in? I'd like to talk to you?" he offered.   
"No. Go away."   
"Please, Kitty?"   
"Ugh! Fine. Fine, come in." Her face was obviously blotchy, Kurt could see as he entered. He crossed the small room and sat on the edge of the bathtub. Kitty was perched on top of the toilet seat, obviously trying to disguise her upset...   
  
***   
  
[1]Get it? "Deja vu" means you do something again, and "all over again"...you get it. Okay, okay, literally "deja vu" means "already seen," but you get the idea.  
~  
"Whaddayou want?" Kitty grouched.   
Kurt pondered his toes. "I just wanted you to know that I know that you've been upset about something, and I don't know what the something is, but, you know, I'll listen if you want to talk."   
"Don't want to," Kitty said petulantly.   
"Is it me?"   
"No."   
"Is it something I caused?"   
"No..."   
"Can I fix it?"   
"Go away," Kitty further withdrew into her huddle, and faced the sink.   
"Do you really want me to go away, or are you just saying to go away so I'll go away and you'll be alone with yourself?"   
"What?" Kitty blinked. "Who cares?"   
"I care," Kurt said sincerely.   
"You can go-"   
"-away." Kurt stood up. "Is there anyone else you'd prefer to share sorrow with?"   
"A pint of ice cream."   
"What flavor?"   
"I don't care."   
"Back in a flash."   
Kurt made to teleport, but Kitty interrupted with a shout of, "Keep your stink away from me!"   
"As you wish," he slunk through the door.  
~  
  
Kurt practically had his tail between his legs by the time he made it to the kitchen. Katzchen had made him feel even worse about things, but he knew one thing for certain. Nothing made a girl feel better like chocolate.   
  
He searched the freezer at the top of the 'fridge. Even the Neapolitan had been scoured of chocolate.   
  
He searched the freezers in the basement. Nothing but cow and sheep parts.   
  
He searched the freezer in the sub-basement, sub-sub-basement and sub-sub-sub-basement.   
  
Nothing. At least, nothing *chocolate*.   
  
Kurt returned to his room to scour out his resources, then chased down Evan and Scott and made them give his money back. Then, hologram on, he 'borrowed' Rogue's step-through[1] and tore off to the mall as fast as he could legally go.   
  
He didn't even want to *think* about the trip through the freezer section at the Shop'n'Go. Trying to get through Indecisives Anonymous to pick out a liter tub of Chocolate-on-chocolate ripple with chocolate chips. And a bottle of Ice Magic[2] to go with.   
  
And standing behind a Mom with a tantrum-throwing kid who wanted his ice cream.   
  
And waiting for her credit card to clear.   
  
And discovering that he'd picked a checkout with a trainee who'd evidently never seen cash before. Nor made change.   
  
And having to go through a detour on the way *back* to the Institute that rivalled the Tour de France.   
  
He arrived exhausted, sweaty and slightly appologetic at Katzchen's room with the shopping bag and a spoon. He knocked. "I bought your ice cream?"   
  
Kitty glared at him. "What did you like, *do*?" she damanded. "Make it *yourself*?" She snatched the bag off him and proceeded to dig in. "Eeewww... this is like, melted." Kitty ate some anyway. "Can you like, move *downwind* or something?"   
  
Kurt deflated completely and slunk into his room, not stopping until he found his perch on his balcony.   
  
Now *he* felt like crying.   
  
[1] A step-through is the bike thingy that Rogue was riding in _Spyke Cam_. Sort of a motorised scooter with a seat.   
  
[2] That chocolate sauce that sets hard on the ice cream. Fun stuff   
~  
Rats.   
K-man had just repossessed the 50 dollars Evan had stolen from The Jar. That meant he was, in effect, still broke.   
And he *had* to have that awesome new deck [1], the one that had been displayed in the skate store window the previous day.   
Where to get the money, then?   
Hey, Scott had had some...   
  
"Hey Scott!' Evan burst out the side door and managed to delay the older boy starting his car.   
"What's up?" Scott didn't take his hand off the key, already in the ignition.   
"I need to borrow 50 dollars."   
Scott's other hand touched his wallet pocket. "I don't have that much," he said.   
"Yeah you do," Evan persisted. "I know I saw you with four twenties earlier."   
"I, uh, need those for something," Scott shifted into a better driving position.   
"For what?" Evan asked suspiciously.   
"Never mind!" Scott started the engine and backed up faster than was probably safe.   
Which left Evan still short.   
Rats.   
  
[1] For the boarding-illiterate, a deck is the part of the skateboard that you stand on.  
~  
Evan decided to scope out K-man's room for a heretofore undiscovered secret stash. He got as far as the door before he froze.   
K-man was brooding on his ledge.   
And there, on his dresser, was the Jar.   
With money in it.   
_Hmmm... Money versus finding out what's eating K-man... New Deck versus friendship..._   
Darn it. Why did decisions have to be so *hard*?   
_Rats._  
~  
"Hey, dude..." Evan took a tentative step forward toward the ledge. "Heh-heh...how's it goin'?"   
Kurt stared out at the water. "Kitty hates me. How do you *think* it's going?"   
Oof. Definitely more than he'd bargained for. And here Evan'd been thinking it was just the money problem again. "Listen, man - maybe it's just not meant to be, you know?" A piercing glare. Without hesitation, Evan started again. "Okay, well, you know what they say: 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again'?" he offered. No response. "What happened this time, anyway?"   
The situation was explained, and Evan found himself in shock. "Whoa."   
"...and now she hates me," Kurt finished. "Again."   
"Dude, it could be worse."   
"How?"   
"Um..."   
"See?"   
"No, wait...it could be raining!" Kurt shoved him playfully, hopping down from the ledge.   
"I guess you're right. I mean, it's worth another try, right? Sure..." Evan nodded vigorously. Kurt crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow at his friend. "Well, what do *you* think I should do?"   
"Um...spy on her?"   
"Not a chance."   
"Bribe her?"   
"I don't think so."   
"Take her to the movies?"   
"Forget it. It's hopeless." He resumed his position on the ledge.   
"Wait, man...I have an idea..."   
~  
"Make her jealous by taking *Rogue* to the movies!"   
There was a long pause.   
"Sorry, but that's the worst plan I've ever heard," Kurt said.   
"What's wrong with it?" Evan frowned. "They always do stuff like that on TV."   
"She's my *sister*. Besides the fact that you can't get past first base without winding up in a coma."   
"Okay, wait," Evan waved his finger as he thought. "You could...no...or...wait..."   
"Thanks anyway," Kurt returned to staring at the waves.   
"Can I have another 50 dollars?"   
"Sure, whatever," the elf waved a hand absently.   
"Cool." Evan fished some bills out of the The Jar, and went out into the hall.   
Rogue waylaid him outside Jean's door. "Is it me, or is there *nothing* to do today?"   
"Dunno," Evan shrugged and flashed the money. "Gon' get me a new deck!"   
"I wonder if there are any good movies out?"   
"Check the paper," Evan advised. "If Logan's left it anywhere. Oh, and whatever you find, K-man doesn't wanna go with you." He sped off towards the stairs.   
"Huh?" Rogue blinked at the wall.  
~  
And just because she was a contradictory person by nature, she just *had* to ask.   
  
"Hey, Kurt!" she said, coming to join him on the balcony.   
"Hey..." Kurt answered forlornly.   
"Geez, yah're ah real lil' sunshine taday, aren'tcha? Anyway, Ah was thinkin' o' goan' tah th'movies tanight; wanna tag along?"   
"I'm...not sure..."   
Then, something happened that Kurt had never thought to ever see happen. Rogue, THE Rogue, miss 'leave me in mah dumpster, ah like it there' Rogue got a mischievious look in her eye and a smile tugged at the corner of her lip.   
"Ah know wha' 'meine brudder' likes...an' Ah also know they're playin' that new horror,"Kurt perked up at this,"th' new one with tha mad axeman down south?"she finished in a saccharine-sweet voice.   
Kurt couldn't restrain himself anymore.   
He turned to his half-sibling, grabbed onto her shoulders none too gently and practically shouted "You mean it's finally ON?"   
Evan Daniels, eat yar heart out, thought Rogue.  
~  
"_You've got an axe to grind..._" Kurt sang, half-dancing down the hall. "_Hack those old chains apart/You've gotta work this blade... Strike it right to the heart/You've gotta make this kill--"   
  
"All *RIGHT*, K-man!" Evan chided. "We *have* heard the add about a million times by now... Settle!"   
  
"Aaaaawww..." said Kurt. "But it's so *cool*!"   
  
"Hologram," said Rogue, turning it on for him. "You don't want people thinkin' you're tryin' to get in to some other movie for free."   
  
Kurt poked his tongue out at her. "Nyeeeeeerrrr..."   
  
"Gotta love the witty repartee," Evan muttered.  
~  
"But, Lance! I don't, like, *want* to see a horror movie, I *told* you!"   
"Aw, come on, Pretty-Kitty," he cooed nauseatingly. "I've been wanting to see this movie for *months.* Besides," he looked down at her in an almost condescending way, "don't you want to cling to me every time there's a scary part?"   
Kurt watched all of this from Rogue's side in the ticket line, with a half-disgusted, half-curious look on his face. _Could this be what has been bothering Katzchen? Nein, look at her. She looks pretty pissed off, definitely not ready to cry. I wonder what's got her down..._  
"C'mon, Kurt, are we goin' in or what?" Rogue tapped her foot. While Kurt had been thinking, she had been busy buying the tickets. Twenty dollars for two adults indeed...   
"Huh? Oh, ja..." Kurt let Rogue pull him into the theater, but not before a few more glances in Kitty's direction to make sure where she was sitting. Once they got in, it was quite obvious that Rogue couldn't see, so she let him lead, Kurt being the one who could see in the dark. Following Kitty with his eyes, he led the way down the right aisle, parallel to Kitty, and when she and Lance reached the row they were apparently looking for, Kurt and Rogue entered from the opposite side. It was thus that Kurt wound up sitting one skinny-little-kid away from Kitty.   
"Kurt?! Like, what are you doing here?" Kitty asked, shocked and angry, over the kid's head.   
"I thought I'd watch a movie," said Kurt with false coolness. "Is that all right with you?" He paused. "Oh, I'm sorry, nothing's all right with you, *especially* not people trying to help you feel better."   
"Stop it!" Rogue tugged on his arm. "The movie's startin'!" Kurt glared once more in Kitty's direction (over the kid, who was now licking a lollipop bought at the concession stand) before turning to face the screen. The lights dimmed even further, and the audience hushed.   
About halfway through the movie, however, the peace was disturbed (not that the screaming hadn't disturbed it). Kurt heard crying, and it certainly wasn't coming from the speakers. Glancing over two seats, he could see as bright as day - Kitty was sniffling into a tissue. _Was?_ He was confused. _She's crying because the zombie's scaring his mother?_  
After first checking that Lance was still enthralled in the movie, Kurt leaned over the little kid's head. "Psst!" Kitty continued her quiet crying. "Pssst, Kitty!"   
Gasp. She wiped her nose and eyes on her sleeve quickly, then glared up at Kurt - he may have been imagining it, but she didn't seem to look quite as hostile as she had before. "What?"   
"Kitty, I know you're not faking it by now," he whispered, half fierce, half tender. "*What is bothering you?*"   
She looked almost ready to respond, but then she noticed that the kid in the seat between them was looking up at her with that glazed, innocent look that all sugar-high kids seem to have. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked back at Kurt. "Look," said Kitty, a bit quickly, "I'm going to the bathroom, okay?" Darting her eyes to the exit, she gave Kurt a meaningful look that said _Meet me outside, and maybe I'll talk about this._ Edging past Lance, who was still enthralled in the movie, Kitty made her way out of the crowded theater.   
"Rogue," whispered Kurt.   
"Oh, what is it *now*?" Rogue was annoyed at having her movie so disturbed.   
"Uh - could you stand up for a moment, so I can get past?"   
"Fine!" she growled, standing up savagely. "And don't come back," she whisper-yelled after him. Rolling her eyes frustratedly, she sat down again...only to realize she was in the wrong seat. Glancing down, she saw a sticky little kid smiling in the seat beside her. "What are you looking at?" she grumbled, then turned back to the movie.   
  
***   
  
Kitty was wiping her eyes when Kurt got to her. "All right. Was is this all about?" He spoke in a hushed tone, and pulled her towards the corner of the quiet common room [1].   
"You really want to know?" Kurt crossed his arms. "Okay, I'll, like, tell you. Promise you won't laugh?"   
"Kitty..." he warned.   
"Okay. So, like, the other day I was just, like, going to my locker, right?" He nodded slowly. "And this kid came up behind me, from my English class? And that day I had been, like, explaining my story that I had written - to the class..." she trailed off, blushing and sniffling a bit.   
"And...?"   
"And, like, this kid he, like - he said he thought I had O.D.D. [2]!" The rest of Kitty's words all came out in a rush. "I mean, I know I kinda tend to zone of in class, right?, but when people say that nowadays they usually mean that you're stupid, right?, so he was basically saying that I, like belong on the special bus or something! And *I* know I don't belong on the special bus or anything, but what if everyone else thinks that I'm stupid or something, Kurt?! What if they all think I'm so dumb, and I bet everyone I've ever met thinks I'm the dumbest person alive, and, oh *gosh* I don't want to be the patsy[3]!"   
If this had been anyone else, Kurt would have been laughing his lungs out, but since it was Kitty, he just looked sad that he had to be the one to tell her. "Um, Katzchen...how can I break this to you? Ah...what *you're* thinking of, I think...is A.D.D., Attention Deficient Disorder?"   
"Attention *Deficit* Disorder, silly elf," Kitty giggled lightly, smiling a watery smile.   
"Ah, right...well, he called you O.D.D., so...well, that's not a real disease, is it? It just spells 'odd'. Kitty, I think he was just calling you weird." Her eyes widened. "Remember to breathe, Kitty. Please?"   
Though her face was still blotchy, every feature on it was twisted in absolute rage. "Oh, that kid," she snarled suddenly, seemingly in a feral anger. "He's gonna *get it* tomorrow!"   
Kurt caught her on the arm before she stalked right out of the door. "Katzchen. Calm down."   
She *growled* at him.   
Kurt was unphased. "Ride home?"   
She paused, deflated. "Oh, yeah." All traces of anger melted from her face.   
  
***   
  
[1] You know? The lobby? Of the movie theater?   
  
[2] This is the disorder my friends and I claim we have. We go around, saying: "I hate to tell you this, guys, but we have to have it out....I have O.D.D. Will you still be my friends?" ::much laughter::   
[3] Old-movie lingo. I have a thing for it. A patsy is a term from the '20s and onward. It means a stupid person, someone easily fooled. ^_^  
~  
It was quite cozy on the bus[1], sharing a seat together. Though Katzchen was still angry at the anonymous kid who told her she had O.D.D..   
  
"Katzchen, let it go. It was only a joke, liebe."   
  
"Yeah, like you'd be able to like, laugh it off." Kitty fumed into the middle distance, not really looking at anything. "Remember when Jamie replaced your shampoo with honey?"   
  
"That's different. There was a lot of collateral damage. And we'd *just* run out of hot water. Do you know how hard it is to clean honey out of fur with just *cold* water? This is only words."   
  
"All right," said Kitty, "You wouldn't handle it well if like, someone called you a Nazi or that."   
  
Hidden by the hologram, Kurt's tail bristled. "Ja. But I know I'm not. And you know you're not stupid. So do our friends, ne?"   
  
Kitty sighed. "...guess."   
  
"And no matter what anyone calls us, we're still the same inside, ja?"   
  
Now she was looking out the window. "S'pose so."   
  
"And of course you've taken his name down so I can noodle-bomb his locker tomorrow, ja?"   
  
Click. Kitty laughed out loud. "Damn you, you fuzzy elf..."   
  
Kurt smiled when he got a hug. _Do I know women, or do I know women? Fuzzy dude scores again._   
  
[I'm not in an overly-schmaltzy mood today. Someone else's turn for a little romance]   
  
[1] Scooter took off, remember. Besides, romance will happen *anywhere*.  
~  
The bus made that funny sound signalling a halt, and the doors hissed open. No one debarked. Several young to middle-aged people made their way down the aisle and took up strap-hanging. A slow, elderly lady brought up the rear.   
Kurt was out of his seat like he'd been set on fire. "Here," he took the woman by her arm and guided her onto the bench.   
"Thank you, young man," the lady said, loud enough for half the bus to hear. She turned to Kitty and added, "What a nice boyfriend you have."   
"Didn't know he was my boyfriend," Kitty mumbled, turning red.   
"Oh, sure," the senior nodded vigorously. "I remember-"   
She prattled on for the rest of the ride, retelling stories, offering opinions, and giving noisy advice on relationships.   
"This is my stop," Kitty finally got to say. "Bye."   
"Have a nice day," Kurt saluted.   
  
When they stood on the sidewalk below the bus sign, Kitty growled. "Did you *have* to do that?"   
"Yes," Kurt shrugged helplessly. "Sorry."   
"I'll sorry you," Kitty made a vague motion implying later violence, and started walking.   
Kurt cringed and followed.  
~  
With a scream, her rancid ear went flying across the room, accompanied by a large splash of blackish-red, not unlike the colour of ketchup gone past its sell-by-date.   
  
The hulking behemoth with the chainsaw laughed maniacally, swiping his weapon downward to sever first one arm and then the other of his victim.   
  
"Ha ha ha ha! Back to Hell with ya, scumbag!" he yelled triumphantly, raising the whirling blade aloft as hordes of zombies surged forward to avenge their fallen comrade. "Who else wants some?[1]"   
  
Lance leaned forward in his seat, enrapt. "Whoa, cool. Some movie, eh Kitty-kat?"   
  
When no answer was forthcoming from his admittedly quiet date, Lance rolled his eyes, reasoning that Kitty must be feeling neglected and so be giving him the cold shoulder for favouring the film instead of her.   
  
~Jeez! Women!~ he mused. ~*Have* to be the centre of the universe, don't they. Still, if I want any action later, I'd better thaw her out now, or she'll be in deep-freeze after the movie and I'll have *no* chance at anything date-like.~   
  
Not taking his eyes from the screen, Lance reached out his arm and made to snake it around Kitty's shoulders as he was wont to do. It was an action that usually pleased them both - Kitty got to feel loved and protected, and he was in a good enough position to cop a quick feel and pass it off as an accident.   
  
However, on this particular occasion lance found the situation a little less to his liking. He toppled sideways in his chair, having no Kitty to lean on, and ended up sprawled across two cinema seats with something sticky and distinctly melted-lollipop-like smeared across his cheek.   
  
"What the f-" he exclaimed loudly, earning himself a chorus of 'shh' from the other moviegoers and a kick in the back of his chair from the person sitting behind him.   
  
"Keep it down, will ya!" a heavily accented voice ordered. "*Some* of us're tryin' ta watch th' movie!"   
  
Lance straightened up, wiping the candy remains away with one hand and getting a palm-ful of goo for his troubles.   
  
"*Rogue*"   
  
The goth levelled a stern glare at him. "What?!" she demanded in a whisper. If looks could kill, Lance would've been a full six feet under at that moment.   
  
"What're *you* doing here?"   
  
"Watchin' the frikkin' movie."   
  
"Alone? On a Friday night?"   
  
"It's allowed, y'know," Rogue ground her teeth.   
  
"Hey mithter," a small, erstwhile unseen child holding another offensive lollipop grabbed at Lance's arm, "Can't you thee the lady'th trying to watch the movie? Let her alone."   
  
"What business is it of your what I do, small fry?" Lance shook the boy off and returned his gaze to Rogue, who was pointedly trying to see the screen-carnage she'd paid good money to see, over his head.   
  
The kid next to Rogue scowled. The girl with funny hair had given him the last of her soda not so long ago when he'd been whining about thirst, and he felt an innocent need to protect her from this smoky teen as repayment.   
  
A mischivious light born of too much sugar flared in his eyes, and the kid clambered upright to stand on his chair and thus be level with Lance's face. Lance shot him an irritated look, which quickly turned to one of righteous dismay as the remnants of a recently stickified lollipop were thrust into his hair and twisted roughly so that the half-eaten purple top submerged entirely.   
  
Lance yowled, shaking the boy off and clawing at the gooey mess dribbling across his scalp. The thirty-something couple next to him turned and shushed insistantly, making signs to someone at the back of the theatre, but he ignored them and made to grab at the offending kid's collar with an angry growl.   
  
At once a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.   
  
"All right, buddy, you been warned," grated the usher in the unmistakable voice of a chain-smoker, before unceremoniously hauling Lance to his feet and along the row. With an angry yell, the leader of the Brotherhood was dragged through the doors out of the darkened cinema, across the foyer, and deposited firmly outside with a curt 'No refunds to trouble-makers.'   
  
Lance hurled abuse behind him, but the swinging entrance was already closed and the usher gone. This wasn't the first time he'd been thrown out of the movies, but Lance knew that he'd been on 'probation' with the management, so to speak, and could count on it that he was now barred from the place for the forseeable future. And to make matters worse, he hadn't even seen the end of his flick!   
  
Angrily he stood up and kicked at a lampost, which duly fought back with a dull 'clang' that left him hopping about on one foot and turning the air a spectacular shade of blue.   
  
Great. Just great. He'd lost his money, been kicked out of the theatre yet *again*, lost his date who-knows-where without even getting a kiss out of bringing her first, and now to top it all off, it felt like he'd broken his damn toe too!   
  
"Perfect! Just perfect!" he growled. "What else could possible go wrong?"   
  
The words had no sooner left his mouth when he saw the next, and last part of his humiliation come to light across the street.   
  
Kitty. And the freak. At the bus stop. Together.   
  
And the freak had his arm around her shoulder in a gesture of.... well, it was most probably comfort, but to Lance it looked more like Kurt was copping the feel he deemed should rightfully have been *his*, since he'd spent ten dollars on her movie ticket.   
  
"That dirty little f-" Lance muttered, eyes blazing as he watched them.   
  
Evidently, they hadn't seen him, and he saw Kurt shift a little closer to *his* woman, and give her shoulders a tentative squeeze that she didn't shy away from.   
  
Lance was just about to storm across the street after them and avenge his ruined evening by beating the living faeces out of the freak when their solace arrived in the form of the bus. It clanked to a halt, picking up all potential passengers and pulling away again before he was even halfway across the tarmac.   
  
Lance glared murderously after it, two familiar figures making their way obliviously to the back seat together as they sped away in their motorised saviour. He narrowed his eyes at the taller one, snarling beneath his breath, "You just wait, fuzz-ball. You just *wait*! You're going down for this one! A man can only take so much, and then-"   
  
A rumble sounded under his feet, and several feet away a mailbox bucked and tore itself right out of the sidewalk, spluttering letters and junk mail everywhere like paper snow.   
  
Lance ignored it, brandishing a fist at the back of the vanishing bus and starting to give chase on foot. He knew where they were going. Oh boy, he knew.   
  
"And You're gonna get yours when I get there, freak-boy date-thief! *You're gonna get yours*!"   
  
  
***************************   
  
  
Inside the movie theatre, Rogue reached into her pocket and drew out a few coins. Nudging the sticky kid next to her, she dropped them into his hand.   
  
"Here, kid. Get yahself another lollipop."   
  
The boy stared at her generosity, turning over the superfluous amount of cash, eyes shining. There was enough here to buy at least *ten* lollipops. He looked up at her in wonder at anyone being so rich.   
  
"Wow, thanks Miss.... er... Miss....."   
  
Rogue gave him a sideways glance and cracked a rare smile. "mah name's Rogue. And you are?"   
  
"Uh, Jason. Jason Andrews, Miss Rogue."   
  
"Ya done good, Jason."   
  
The goth girl returned to watching what remained of the film, but a small pair of eyes stayed fixed on her like limpets on a rock.   
  
The sticky kid clutched his treasure to him and admired how pretty his benefactor looked on the flickering light of the movie theatre. Her hair was funny, and she wore strange make-up, but to him she was the most beautiful creature in the world at that moment.   
  
And so, in the darkened space, Jason Andrews embarked upon his first crush. And Rogue gained her next male admirer.   
  
***************   
  
[1] Sorry, couldn't resist the Powerpuff Girls ref. Has probably been spoken by many people, but ickle Bubbles at level eleven just stuck in my mind for some reason.  
~  
Kurt caught up with Kitty and looked her in the eye, a bit hurt. "You don't really mean that, do you Kitty?" She looked up at him.   
"No, Kurt, I don't mean it," she answered finally. Kitty's eyelids fluttered closed, and Kurt slipped an arm around her shoulders to guide her. "I'm just-- tired. I'm sorry."   
"If it helps, *I* don't think you're weird. But I think that old lady was," he cracked. She opened her eyes and laughed at his amusing expression, but he soon sobered up a bit. "Listen, Kitty...I don't want you to be so confused about things." She blinked at him, glassy-eyed. "I just want you to know--you're one of the smartest...most normal people I know. Okay?"   
Nodding, she started to smile again. "Yeah, well--maybe being weird isn't so bad." She elbowed him in the side. "You're pretty weird yourself!" They laughed awkwardly, and they slowed in their walk.   
~  
"Oh, ja, I am the reigning king of weird," Kurt boasted, throwing off the potential hurt with humour. He showed off, flipping a few somersaults before deciding to walk on his hands. "More comfortable upside-down than right-way up; always climbing anything possible - and a few things that aren't..." He looked back at Katzchen, upside-down, through his arms. "Care to join me, fraulein?"   
~  
"What? Here?" Kitty blinked in confusion. "Right out in the middle of the sidewalk?"   
  
"Right out in the middle of the sidewalk," Kurt nodded.   
  
For a moment Kitty surveyed him, as if gauging how serious he was. The foreign teen made for a funny picture, balanced precariously on his palms with both legs in the air, baggy trousers sagging down on themselves to reveal holographic socks embroidered with miniature Winnie-the-Poohs.   
  
"Pick those out yourself?" she asked, pointing.   
  
Kurt looked up with an equally holographic blush. "Nein, Fraulein, they're... uh.... well they kinda came with the watch."   
  
"But didn't the Professor, like, program that thing?"   
  
With a backwards flip, Kurt landed neatly beside her. "Jawohl, he did."   
  
"The *Professor* likes Winnie-The-Pooh?" Kitty was incredulous. "I'd have thought he was more of a, like.... well.... anything-else kinda guy!"   
  
"What, you think it's wrong for adults to like kids' programs?" Kurt asked, sweeping his ruffled hair back off his face with one hand and shooting her a sly glance.   
  
"Well it just doesn't seem very... y'know, *adult*," the mutant girl tried to defend herself. "It's, like, totally weird for someone like the Professor to like kids' stuff."   
  
"So says the girl who has 'My Little Pony' posters in her room," Kurt laughed.   
  
Kitty turned to glare at him, "Hey, my parents, like, sent them to me. I used to like that stuff as a kid, and I only keep them up to please my family!"   
  
"Sure you do, Katzchen," Kurt grinned, and danced out of the way as she playfully swung at him.   
  
"Hey, hold still so I can slug ya!" she ordered, though the smile on her lips belied her words. "I'll give you 'My Little Pony'!"   
  
"Ha ha! You'll have to do better than that, Katzchen!" Kurt teased, lightly jumping aside at her inept actions. He glanced up, taking in the dimly lit street with it's one flickering lamp. There was nobody around. So, with a manic grin, he somersaulted and landed on all fours, spider-like on the brick wall of the building beside them.   
  
"No fair!" Kitty jumped up and down below as he scuttled skywards. "Come back down here, elf!"   
  
Kurt shook his head. "Nein, *you* come up *here*!"   
  
"Oh, come off it, Kurt!" she balled her hands and pressed them firmly into her hips, adopting a stance of boredom. "You know I can't!"   
  
Kurt slithered down a little. "Yes you can."   
  
Kitty pursed her lips, "Oh yeah? How?"   
  
For a moment he hesitated, unsure, wondering if he was being too forward. But the sight of her standing, bathed in the moon's soft glow with her face lit intermittantly from one side by the blinking streetlamp won out, and Kurt extended one hand down towards her, keeping the other three pressed firmly to the brickwork.   
  
"By trusting me."   
  
Kitty took a step back, confused, and he almost withdrew his hand. But then she smiled, and a warm breath of relief escaped his lungs.   
  
"Why not," the pony-tailed girl shrugged, and reached out to take his hand with its fingers forever stuck in vulcan-format. Then she paused, and squinted into his eyes. "Promise you won't do anything scary?"   
  
Kurt made crossing motions across his chest. "Cross my heart, Katzchen."   
  
She waited a second more, and then grasped the profferred hand. Kurt felt her grip at him, and a rush of adreneline washed through his system at the hertofore ungiven contact. Before he knew what he was doing, he'd wrenched his arm upwards, twirling Kitty with a cry into his strong arms and begun running vertically up the side of the building.   
  
Kitty squealed as they reached the top and Kurt launched himself out into seemingly empty space. However, as they came plummetting down his tail snaked out of the hologram and caught at a flagpole on the adjacent building. it was old, and creaked loudly as the pair swung around and over it, until Kurt once more let go and they fell.   
  
Windows, firescapes and balconies rushed past in a blur, and the individual bricks became nothing more than a smear of red in Kitty's peripheral vision. She tried to let loose a scream, but air rushed into her throat, and she could only gargle helplessly as the floor rushed up to greet them.   
  
Millimetres from the pavement, a cloud of sulphurous smoke enveloped them, and Kitty felt her stomach lurch violently as she was sucked faster than the speed of sound into a tunnel of light and shadow. Then air blossomed around her as they emerged from the teleport and touched down on the rooftop overlooking where they'd very nearly become street-pizza.   
  
Kurt kept his arms wrapped about her waist, propping her up as she recovered from the effects of the teleport. For her part, Kitty could only gulp in lungfuls of sweet oxygen.   
  
"I thought... you said.... no scary stuff!"   
  
"And I told you I wouldn't let anything happen to you, Katzchen," Kurt replied in an even voice that didn't reflect how much his guts were flip-flopping at that precise moment. He leaned in close, and whispered into her ear, "I'll always be there to catch you, you know."   
  
At once Kitty stilled, and though her fervent gasps still rent the air, the atmosphere around them was one of intense calm. Almost expectancy.   
  
"Thanks, Kurt," she said at last. "You don't know how, like, much that means to me. Just.... thanks."   
  
And then, it was broken. The spell shattered as Kitty broke away from Kurt's embrace, rubbing her ear and smoothing her hair with embarrassment. Whether it was the memory of her boyfriend, or something else, she ended the contact between them then and there, and Kurt deflated visibly as his arms were once again left empty.   
  
But he still had courage and adreneline enough to ask one last question.   
  
"Kitty?"   
  
"Yeah, Kurt."   
  
"*Were* you scared?"   
  
She paused for a moment, as if considering the query. Then slowly shook her head. "No."   
  
"Why?"   
  
" 'Cause...." she bit her lip. Then took a deep breath. " 'Cause I was with you."   
  
Any onlooker could've testified that Kurt's smile was brighter than any streetlamp could ever have been.  
~  
"I want to go home," Kitty said, shivering in the cool night air.   
Kurt offered his overshirt, which she gladly accepted.   
He crouched in front of her, facing away.   
"What are you doing?" she screwed up her face in confusion.   
"A ride," he gestured vaguely. "I don't know what you call it. Huckepack..."   
"Oh, a piggyback ride. Okay," Kitty approached him awkwardly. Sensing her shyness, Kurt helped her arrange herself in a mutually comfortable position. He then descended the building backwards, as if climbing a ladder.   
"They should fix that light," Kitty commented when they were back on the ground.   
"Probably needs a new bulb," Kurt shrugged. "Coming?"   
"Yeah, it's freezing out here," Kitty started to walk quickly.   
"I'll make cocoa when we get home," Kurt promised.  
~  
Kurt's libido was quickly becoming a slobbering monster in the back of his head. _Down boy,_ he thought. _She's with someone else._ All the same, the lingering effect of her perfume made his head spin.   
"Katzchen?"   
"Yeah?"   
"What do you see in Lance?"   
~  
"He was the first mutant I knew," Kitty stared at the sidewalk, "and I was the same for him. We share that."   
"That makes him a good boyfriend?"   
"Fifteen years, Kurt," Kitty glanced over at him. "I thought I was normal. Lance showed me that having powers was okay too. Didn't anyone do that for you?"   
"No," Kurt said. "Heirelgart never had a problem with me. The running and screaming came later." He forced a smile. "The 'porting was sort of a 'hey, why not?'"   
"My parents didn't even want to believe I had powers," Kitty confided. "They wrote off the first time as some sort of freak accident. The second time, Lance found me."   
"Does he like you for anything other than your powers?"   
"What kind of a question is that?" Kitty crossed her arms. "I don't know."   
"Besides being a mutant, does he have any redeeming qualities?" Kurt pressed.   
"Well, he...why do you care?" Kitty huffed and walked even faster.   
"I don't think *he* cares," Kurt strained to keep up. "About you."   
"That's not true!"   
"Does he ever say nice things to you?"   
"Listen, Kurt!" Kitty whirled to face him. "I do *not* need relationship advice from a guy who doesn't even talk to his own mother."  
~  
"If you had my mother would *you* talk to her?" Kurt demanded. "She threw me in a *river*, and didn't even bother to try and get me *back*. I was only two months old, and she left me with people she didn't even know. I could have *died* for all she cared."   
"Listen--"   
"No, you listen. I might not talk to my real mother, but I know what love looks like. My adopted parents still love each other like they first met. Lance is--" How to phrase this? "Katzchen, he treats you like a chattel[1]... I don't think he loves you at all. I think-- I think he wants to *own* you."   
"What do *you* know about *anything*?"   
"What did you get from him for your birthday?" Kurt asked.   
"He's broke. He can't afford anything."   
"Ah. Not even a hug. I see. What about aniversaries? Did he remember the one month aniversary?"   
Kitty kept marching.   
"Nein? How about the second?"   
Now her jaw was clenched and she was growling to herself.   
"Does he remember the day you met at *all*?"   
Kitty snapped. "Leave me alone, you fuzzy blue *FREAK*!" Her final word echoed up and down the empty street, refusing to die.   
Kurt went very cold. "If that's all I am to you, then I'll go," he said. "All you have to do is say it twice."   
  
[1] A thing you own. Biblical term "Goods and chattels".  
~  
Kitty stared at him, her face set resolutely. "Freak," she whispered.   
With all the dignity he could muster, Kurt turned and disappeared into the night.   
_I don't need him *or* Lance, Kitty decided. I can be normal all by myself._  
No more phasing, then. That was okay. She could get along just fine without walking through things.   
Where to go? She had no real urge to return to Illinois.   
Her father's father. He lived in Rhode Island and knew nothing about her mutation. He wouldn't mind keeping her for a while.   
A bus then. Kitty crossed streets to the nearest bus stop and sat down to wait.   
She still had Kurt's shirt. She took it off, crumpled it up, and threw it onto the other end of the bench.   
She shivered as she counted her money.  
~  
He really, *really* wished she hadn't said that. _I guess that's all I am to her. Nothing but an ugly freak._ He sighed, feet taking him wherever they willed. _I tried to be a friend to her. I tried to be nice. I even ate her verdammt *cooking*... and I'm nothing but a freak to her._   
_You *are* a freak,_ said part of his mind. _There's nobody else like you._   
_Ja, but... the word hurts. I prefer 'unique'. I'm God's work of art._   
_Not his joke?_   
_That too. But even humour is a work of art, nein?_   
Kurt stopped. He found himself in an alleyway, staring at Katzchen in the bus stop, counting her money.   
_She's running away. From me._   
Kitty looked up, almost directly at him. Kurt hid in the shadows and dropped down so that his eyes could be mistaken for a cat in the night.   
_Ja,_ he thought at her. _Just another animal. That's all I ever was to you. That's all I ever was to *anyone*. Nobody really cares. I was stupid to come all the way to America to try and learn to be accepted. I never will be._   
At the distant bus stop, Kitty had finished counting her cash and settled down for a long stare up the darkened road. She was shivering in the night, and his overshirt was abandoned at the other end of the bench. Well. *Let* her be independant. *Let* her run away. He could run away, too. Make everything easier for everyone concerned.   
He was Rom. He could make his way in a strange land and not be beholden to *anyone*.   
And, he had to admit, he wanted to keep an eye on Katzchen.   
Because he still loved her, and it hurt to be nothing but a freak to her.  
~  
Kitty was starting to recover from her huge gust of emotions and rethink the plan of waiting at a cold bus stop. Especially now that there were sounds coming from bushes nearby.   
Four men slowly slid into Kitty's sight, seemingly headed for her. Kitty pretended she didn't see them, and hugged herself harder against the cold. No way were they going to stop her from running away. _Besides, I'm too upset by that *freak* to think about anything else..._  
"Heh-heh...hey, look at that, guys. A little girl, just sitting out here all alone."   
Kitty wanted to tell them how she was so not a little girl, but by now she was shivering too hard to answer.   
"Are you running away, kid?" Their voices were cruel, taunting.   
"Aw, let us help you. We'll give you a place to stay." There was a great deal of mean laughter. Kitty shifted in her huddle, clutching herself so tightly that she left red marks on her bare arms.   
"Go away," she managed.   
"I don't think so." Their voices changed from taunting to just pure cruelty. They were gathering around her now, very close to invading her customary three feet of personal space.   
~  
The growl escaped Kurt's throat before he could stop it. At home, his 'funny little noises' were just part of him. Here, in America, they were - well - freakish.   
So be it.   
"The hell?" said one of the wannabe-rapists.   
Kurt growled again and turned off the holowatch. Then, just as the men were looking around, dived from his cover and quickly raced to another hiding place.   
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"   
"What? What?"   
"What the fuck *was* that?"   
"What? Where?"   
"There!"   
"I can't see nothin'...'"   
Kurt chose that moment to unleash his howl, giving vent to all the pain he felt at being a freak. It certainly scared the bejeezus out of everyone at the scene. Including - Katzchen.   
Kurt suddenly wanted to *hurt* the wannabe-rapists for making him scare Katzchen, whom he loved.   
One of the gang wet his shorts.   
Kurt repeated his trick of running between cover.   
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!" Three of them broke and ran.   
"I'm outta here!"   
"I want my Mommy!"   
Hidden in his new place, Kurt growled again. The long sort of growl that's the auditory equivalent of a burning fuse. Hidden in the shadows, he four-walked amongst them, letting his glowing eyes be seen.   
"Oooohhhhh, fuck. Izzat a panther?"   
"Dude, panther's don't howl."   
"Wolf?"   
"Nah. Wolves don't got glow-in-the-dark eyes, dude."   
"Well what the fuck *is* it?"   
"Don't look at me, I just know what it ain't..."   
As a group, the remaining number crept slowly away from the bus stop, where Kitty cowered in fear. Kurt shadowed them, clinging to the dark and only letting himself be seen for seconds at a time. Then, when he was sure Katzchen wouldn't be able to see, he broke cover and chased them for a couple of blocks.   
"DEMON!"   
"It's the demon!"   
"RUN!"   
"I'M ALREADY FUCKING RUNNING!"   
"Run faster!"   
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"   
Kurt stopped and bamfed back to another watching spot near the bus stop. In this case, the apex of a street light - where he wouldn't be seen by anyone.   
He'd saved Katzchen - but at what cost?   
At least he'd honoured her by not showing himself to her.  
~  
"I know that's you!" Kitty said to the night. At least, she hoped to high heaven it was him. Not because she wanted to see him, but because she didn't want to think about what else might be lurking in the shadows. "I told you to go away."   
Kurt leapt silently to the nearest roof. There he decided to empty his pockets and take stock.   
There was his wallet, containing $8.47 in cash, a number of credit cards, his school ID, a school picture of Kitty, and a scrap of paper with several phone numbers. He had an NRG bar and a half, a key to the Institute, his ticket stub from the movies, a broken pencil. A single image-inducer with partially-drained rechargeable batteries. And his wits.   
The midnight bus rattled up to the sign. Kitty boarded, paid, and chose one of the many empty seats.   
"New England," blinked the sign above the windshield.   
"Good," Kurt sighed. "That should be easy to find..."   
After the bus pulled away, he leaped down, retrieved his shirt, and began to walk.  
~  
Kurt could 'see' the bus - or more correctly, Kitty on the bus - through his night senses. It was getting further and further away.   
_Verdammt..._   
He 'ported to a street light just ahead of it, then leaped softly from his perch to the roof of the bus. With luck, no-one would know he was there.   
Not even Katzchen.   
God knew what she thought she was doing, just getting on a bus and riding out to wherever, but he was going to watch over her.   
Be her guardian angel; even if she *didn't* want him.   
Now. How to blend in with the few resources he had.   
Well. He was already travelling light. He could use the cards for food and accomodation; and if he couldn't find a job, he had more than enough cards to last him until he *could* find a job.   
He could buy a recharger when he got to wherever Kitty was going. And a set of brushes to keep his fur in check. And a toothbrush, and so forth. And if he shopped at those bulk discount places he could make his money stretch even further.   
_This is going to be troublesome, but Katzchen is worth it._   
Kurt resolved to only use his holowatch in crowd situations until he got his recharger. That could take care of the temporary battery problem.  
~  
The movie was over, the ending had been gory, and Rogue was getting impatient. Waiting for Kurt would not be pleasant in any case, but that little kid with the lollipop was getting on her nerves.   
"You're pretty," said the kid around the blue candy.   
"Kid, where is your *mother*?"   
"I wanna give you my teddy bear."   
Rogue groaned loudly in frustration and paced away a bit, tapping her foot. A few seconds later she felt a tug at her shirt.   
"Do you want a jellybean?" He had his sticky hand on her clothes.   
"Go away, kid!" Stalking over to the main desk, Rogue prayed to whatever angels there were that the child wouldn't follow her again. No such luck.   
"Whatcha doin'?"   
She ignored him, getting seriously pissed off, and speaking when she got through the line to the help desk. "I'm can't find my friend Kurt, can you page him?" she asked the clerk.   
"No P.A. Sorry." Rogue rolled her eyes and walked away, completely stymied. The kid followed her to the door, where she turned to him.   
"Kid, I'm goin' home now. You got that? Home. You can't follow me, okay?" She spoke tersely. The kid nodded.   
"Will you be back?"   
"Not if you're here," Rogue muttered under her breath, pushing the door open and taking a deep breath of the cuttingly cold night air. _Professor?_ she called with her mind, starting to head home.   
_Yes, Rogue?_ Came the reply, delayed a few seconds--he was obviously busy.   
_Look, I'm really sorry to bug you, but I can't find Kurt. Do you think you could scan for him? I'm wondering if he's already headed home._ There was a brief pause. _Professor?_  
If Rogue had been watching his face right then, she probably would have seen him knit his brow. _He just went out of my range,_ Xavier informed her. _I can't sense him anymore._   
_What would he be doin' out of your range?_ pondered Rogue.   
_That is what we're going to have to find out._ She felt him sever the contact. Rogue shivered slightly, only partially from the cold, and walked faster towards the Institute.  
~  
A ticket from Bayville to Providence was expensive. Kitty cringed as she recounted her money. She had no credit. Despite the number of teenagers at the Institute, there never seemed to be any offers for cards.   
"How long to Providence?" she asked the driver.   
"Three or four hours," he replied.   
"Wake me up when we get there?"   
"No problem, miss."   
Kitty curled up and tried to sleep.   
  
On the roof, Kurt tried to remember his US geography. Where was Kitty going? Was she trying to escape to Canada?   
He stuck himself firmly to the cold steel, and catnapped.   
  
Rogue let herself into the Institute. It was very quiet; apparently everyone else had already gone to bed.   
She found the Professor in Cerebro.   
After several moments, he pushed away from the controls. "Kurt is going west [1]," he reported.   
"Why?" Rogue furrowed her brow.   
"I don't know," the Professor sighed. "He's using one of his powers, but moving steadily."   
"That means he isn't teleporting."   
"Correct. The other thing is...he's sleeping."   
"Sleeping?" Rogue blurted.   
"He certainly appears to be," the Professor studied the readout on the screen.   
"That...makes no sense."   
"I know," he removed the headset and put it on its stand. "If he isn't back in the morning, I'll check again."   
  
[1] Yes, I meant to write west there. The bus would have to get off Long Island before turning north, and eventually veering east across Connecticut. New York geography is strange.  
~  
Five hours later...[1]   
"Miss?"   
"...mmmmnnhhh?"   
"Miss? We're in Providence."   
"...jus' five mo' minutes, Mom. I swear I'll get up..."   
"*MISS*!"   
"Huh?" Kitty jerked awake. "We here already?"   
"Yes," sighed the bus driver. "We're here."   
Kitty yawned. "Urf. M'kay. Thanks." She stumbled off the bus and lurched towards the payphone. _Hope Gran'pa Pryde's the early-to-rise sort..._ She counted up her change. *Just* enough for one call...   
Except the public 'phone didn't take pennies.   
{Ping... tingle tingle tink tink tink tink...}   
There was a quarter on the concrete next to her.   
_The hell?_   
  
Kurt backed away from the edge of the roof, just in time. He just couldn't help himself.   
Whenever Katzchen needed him, he'd be there.   
_Ach! And tomorrow's the day she first came to the Institute. I didn't get her anything!_   
It could wait. First he had to see her safe.   
  
[1] Bus drivers always underestimate  
~  
Kitty looked at the quarter suspiciously, glanced up and down the street, then bent to take it. She slipped it into the slot, picked up the receiver, and dialed a local number.   
It rang, and rang again.   
"Hello!" said a friendly male voice. "You have reached the home of David Pryde. Leave your name and number and I'll get back to you."   
There was a beep.   
"Poppy?" Kitty said into the phone. "It's Kitty. I'm, um, passing through and hoped I could stay for a while. I guess you're not up yet, so I'll just, er, go to the library. 'Bye."   
She hung up.   
  
Kurt swore. How was he supposed to follow her to the library? He wished his watch had an alternate image that even his friends wouldn't know about.   
It was going to be light out soon. There were bound to be crowds in a city this size. He wished he had his long coat.   
He'd have to follow closely at least until he knew where this "Poppy" person lived. He climbed down to the alley and shadowed Kitty on a parallel street.  
~  
Kitty increased her speed as she headed to the library. _There's something following me..._ She could feel eyes on her at every alleyway.   
"Relax. It's only the dark getting to you," she told herself. "There's like, nothing there."   
All the same, she moved up to a trot.   
  
Kurt hid near the library, feel-seeing Katzchen within the lobby, and investigated his holowatch. He'd promised the Professor not to fool with the settings, but this was something of an emergency.   
_First things first, no knock-on foul-ups._ He made a seperate copy of his existing program and made *sure* it was seperate. Then he hit the 'project' feature and started editing.   
_Okay. Black hair, for a start. Strengthen the jaw. Change the eyes, cheekbones... eyebrows just a little... And we have--_ Kurt looked up at the image. _--Kiyanu Reeves, circa _Bill and Ted_. Interesting. A few pock-marks, I think, to throw people off. A little tan. Presto. Might as well stay Kurt Wagner... There's millions of us._   
He turned off the projection, saved the program, and settled down to wait, watch inactive for the moment.  
~  
At 7:30, one Mr. Pryde roused himself from his warm bed and shuffled off to the kitchen. He was halfway through his morning coffee before he noticed a light blinking on the answering machine. He hit the button.   
"You have one messages," said the automated voice. "Message one."   
"Poppy?" said a familiar voice. "It's Kitty. I'm, um, passing through and hoped I could stay for a while. I guess you're not up yet, so I'll just, er, go to the library. 'Bye."   
"5:12 AM, Saturday," the time-date stamp announced.   
Mr. Pryde glanced at the clock, downed his remaining coffee, and went back to the bedroom to trade his bathrobe for something more presentable.   
  
The library was deserted. Kitty had chosen a random novel off the shelf and begun reading it. It wasn't very good.   
  
Kurt sat behind some bushes near the parking lot, trying not to fall asleep. He unwrapped and ate the half-NRG bar. He was going to have to find more food. And a recharger. A change of clothes might be nice too.   
A little red car swung into the lot, and an elderly man got out.   
  
"Kitty?" said a hushed voice.   
The owner of that name looked up from another page of one-dimensional characters and pathetic dialogue. "Poppy!" she smiled.   
"What are you doing up here?"   
"Just traveling."   
"No suitcase?"   
"It's an experiment in traveling light," Kitty said. It was almost true.   
"How's your school in New York?" he asked.   
"It's all right," she shrugged.   
"What do they teach you there?"   
"Stuff," Kitty answered vaguely.   
As they talked, they had returned to the car.   
Kurt watched between the foliage, fighting down an innate distrust of this man with his Katzchen.   
The car drove away.  
~  
Kurt activated his 'Keanu' hologram and stepped out of the bushes, hopping into a cab.   
"I've always wanted to say this," he said to the driver. "Follow that car."   
"...tourists," the cabbie muttered, but got into gear. "So what is it? Ameteur sleuthing or ameteur spying?"   
"Er. Well. I'm sort of making sure she's safe," Kurt began. "The girl in that car, I mean. She's running away, and -- I don't want her to get hurt."   
"You have a break-up with her?"   
"Ha. We were never friends." Kurt sighed. "I'm nothing to her; she told me as much to my face... but I love her so much it hurts."   
"Oooch..." the cabbie winced. "What's she got against you, anyway?"   
"I'm a freak," Kurt mumbled.   
The cabbie snorted. "Lemme guess. Extra nipple? A little deformity? Listen, kid. There's *plenty* folks out there worse off than you. You look like Keanu frikkin' Reeves! Who *cares* of ya got webbed toes or whatever? Lots of girls her age wouldn't, I can tell ya."   
"I don't want them," said Kurt. "I hardly know them. I love *her*."   
"She'll come around," soothed the cabbie. "If she's got any *sense* she'll come around. Just don't stalk her. Nice boy like you don't deserve to get arrested, you know?"   
"Ja. I'll be careful." Kurt smiled. "She won't even know I'm there."  
~  
Kitty was tense in the passenger seat. "Somebody is in the car behind us."   
Poppy raised an eyebrow. "How do you know this?"   
"Just--trust me. I sort of have a sixth sense about these things," she said, craning her neck to see out the back window.   
"Kitty, you want to tell me what you're doing in Providence before sunup when you're supposed to be in Westchester?" He took a second to glance at her seriously before turning his eyes back to the road.   
Sighing, she started, "Well, it's kind of a long story, but--who is behind us?!" She pushed herself out of her seat again, cutting herself off.   
"Kitty..." warned Poppy.   
Taking no heed, she said: "Okay, there's the cab driver, and--why is that kid who looks like Keanu Reeves following us?"   
It took a moment to hit her, but when it did, it hit her like a wall of water hitting a hen [1]. "Kurt," she folded her arms crossly and sank back into her seat with an expression that could stop an assassin in his tracks.   
At that second, Poppy turned the car into the driveway. "Okay, we're here, Kitten. Now I want to know what's going on, and I want to know yesterday."   
"Can we just--go inside first? This kid--ugh!" She was still sounding pretty angry.   
Poppy looked at her for a second, appraisingly. "All right, let's go inside. I'll make you some hot chocolate. You must be freezing on a night like this!"   
  
***   
  
Rogue was pissed off. Pissed. Off. Rogue was often pissed off, but not often this pissed off. This was pissed off squared. This was pissed off *cubed.* This was pissed off--   
"Stripes, will ya stop sulking, we're almost there anyway." She glared at him. "Just another hour to go."   
"Grrr," she growled under her breath.   
"Don't think I don't hear that."   
"Child, just calm down," Ororo stated. "This will all be over soon."   
"Yeah, sure. That's what the Professor said before I found out I had to help *find* those two." After picking up Kurt's signature on Cerebro, Xavier had found Kitty's mind shortly after, and had commenced in ordering any mutants available to accompany him on his trip in the X-Jet. Unfortunately, that meant that Rogue was coming. "Grrr..."   
[1] Ever heard the phrase "madder than a wet hen"?  
~  
They trailed the Nissan through residential streets, slowing as it crawled into a driveway.   
"Keep going," Kurt urged. "She can't know I'm here."   
The driver picked up some speed, continuing down the block. "Look, you're a nice kid," he said, "but you wanna give me a reason why I shouldn't take you down to the station?"   
"It's not what you think," Kurt said hastily. "I'm a benevolent stalker. If she sees me, *I'm* the one who's going to get hurt."   
"Whatever you say," the cabbie shook his head. "Where you going now?"   
"Know any good hotels? Not too expensive?"   
"No problem," he swung the car around a corner, heading back downtown.   
  
"I'd like a room," Kurt said, stepping up to the counter.   
"How many nights?" the bored clerk asked.   
"Indefinite."   
"Smoking or non?"   
"Non."   
"Got a credit card?"   
Kurt opened his wallet, picked one he didn't think he'd used much yet, and slid it across the marble surface.   
The girl scanned it, punched buttons, and gave him a key with an enormous tag.   
"Room 652," she said, as if he and the whole rest of the world couldn't read it themselves.   
"Danke," Kurt took the key, found the elevator, and rode up to the sixth floor.   
Room 652 was dark. The curtains were drawn and the lights were off. It seemed like a fine place to stay.   
He left the single key on the bed, and went out to buy some necessities.  
~  
Rats. Rats, rats, rats, rats, rats, rats.   
Kurt ducked into another alley and hid, then edited the program again. Completely different look, this time. Different eyes, different hair, different *everything*, except his build and age.   
Just to test, he waalked back *up* the street and checked out the house that Katzchen was staying in. She was at ease, there. So it was a place of safety that she wasn't going to leave for a while.   
Which gave *him* plenty of time to get what he needed.   
  
"Poppy-- I just have to spend some time on my own, you know? It's like I'm losing who I am and I've gotta like, find myself."   
"Got a full-length mirror in the back room, Katya. You can find yourself in there."   
"*Poppy*..."   
The old man laughed. "I know what you mean, Katya. When you were at home, you were your parent's daughter. When you're at that fancy school, you're something else. A little genius, maybe. So why come here to be a Granddaughter?"   
"I kinda like, needed somewhere to like, hole up until I could like, get some cash?"   
"Some genius," Poppy clucked. "Runs away from home with no money and no suitcase, and no *plan*. You must be running from something else, nyet?"   
  
Kurt's new persona was a foreigner who didn't speak much English. This made shopping difficult - especially for the recharger, but he made it anyway.   
He'd need to alter a lot of things, but he was used to that. And the hotel had a laundromat, so he was set, there.   
That, and groceries made for an interesting trip up to his room. After that, he'd have to remember to lock his door. He was in the city, now. Plenty of people could break in and take everything he had.   
  
"Wake up. We're here."   
Rogue blinked. "A bus depot?"   
"This is the last reading we got on their powers. We track 'em the old fashioned way from here."   
"We don't *got* to," said Rogue. "Forge made up a whole bunch o' these portable cerebro units."   
"Hah... I'd rather trust my nose." Logan sniffed around. "Elf. Went this way."   
  
Poppy was sipping coffee as he listened to her, watching the world go by through lace curtains.   
"You're world's very complicated, Da? All about boys and what they do. And what do you do?"   
"I want to try being on my own for a little."   
"Nyet. You run from the truth. You sulk like a child." Another sip of coffee. "Ah, there's the paperboy. And Mrs Tenchiwa has a border at last. Early for students. He must be an immigrant."   
{Thump!} The paper hit the front step.   
"That's all we are, here. Old people, young students, and immigrants, with the odd little mother thrown in. Don't *you* go putting yourself in the last category, Da?"   
"*Poppy*..." Kitty went bright red and collected the paper. "I'm gonna like, find a job and start like, paying rent and junk. I'm gonna like, make it on my own."   
"Da, Da... You do good. I'll make breakfast."   
  
Kurt looked out of his balcony. He could see Katzchen's place from here. He could, if he squinted, make out Katzchen through the odd window,   
_Mental note. Get some kind of telescope._   
But first, work.   
Kurt made himself a wholesome breakfast and scoured the want ads for something he could do. Something he could do without touching people or activating Cerebro. The *last* thing he needed was the cavalry coming and trying to rescue them. Katzchen didn't want to be rescued, and he-- he had to be where she was.   
He needed her like air.   
Ah. There was a nightclub that was looking for talent for their floor show. A good opportunity for him to show off his acrobatic skills and play solo.  
~  
"Job," Kurt's foreign persona jabbed at the want ad.   
"For you?" the manager raised an eyebrow. "This is a nightclub. No kids."   
Kurt faked ignorance.   
"No kids!" the manager said more loudly. "Go away!" he pointed to the door.   
Kurt took his paper and exited.   
Upon closer inspection, the sign on the door *did* say, "Under 18 Not Permitted".   
Okay. He could get around that. It might be illegal, but hey, who would know?   
Kurt ducked around the side of the building, brought up the Keanu program, and aged it by several years. He then wasted some time by wandering the streets around the club.   
An hour or so later, he went back inside.   
"I heard you have a position open for a performer," he said.   
"Yes," the manager was completely unaware of any foul play. "What can you do?"   
"I used to be an acrobat in a circus."   
"Really."   
Kurt dropped his newspaper and did a number of things which the manager had previously thought were physically impossible.   
"You're hired," he said.   
"How much?"   
"Nine dollars an hour, between ten and four."   
"Deal."   
The manager offered his hand.   
"Don't touch the performer," Kurt backed away.   
The manager shook his head. "Just get here on time," he said.   
Kurt controlled himself as far as the sidewalk, then did a victory dance.   
  
Kitty pondered the same newspaper over her orange juice. "Accountant," she read. "Architect. Art Designer. I'm not qualified for any of these."   
"What can you do that's special?" Poppy stirred his oatmeal.   
"Er...not much," Kitty scanned down the page. "I could always be a cashier at the supermarket."  
~  
_Ten, eleven, twelve..._ Kurt did maths in his head. _Seven hours at ten bucks an hour means seventy dollars a night. Cool. Three hundred and fifty dollars for five days. Four hundred and twenty if I do six. And I can do six in my *sleep*._   
Speaking of which, he'd have to catch some. And buy an alarm clock.   
He walked into an alley Keanu and walked out The Foreign Guy, then headed for the nearest store that looked big enough to carry a mechanical alarm clock.   
  
"You must be the newbie," said Hi-My-Name-is-Valerie[1]   
"Like the smock doesn't totally give it away," Kitty giggled. "I get a uniform next week. Like, *if* I work out."   
"First week's always the scariest." Valerie popped her gum. "Few tips; pace yourself, you're in for long days and little rest. You work five hour stretches in this store and you only get an hour to pee, eat, and relax in between. *NEVER* date a trolley-boy - they're the scum of the earth. Soon as you can, buy yourself a crack-of-doom type alarm clock, you're gonna need it. Wear comfy shoes - the store prefers white ones - you're gonna be on your feet a *lot*; and whatever you do, don't look bored. Being bored's the quickest way to land yourself can-stacking in the aisles."   
"Whoah," said Kitty.   
"C'mon. I'll show you around before shift starts." Valerie was wearing white nurse's shoes, the sort with the thick, rubbery sole and the velcro fastenings. "You'll be stocking shelves at one time or another, so you better know where everything goes."   
Kitty had to trot to keep up. Her borrowed job-interview get-up was only held together with pins and wasn't very comfortable. _Mental note. Buy store-uniform coloured track pants and shirt. *OW*!_   
  
_Mental note. Never shop when hungry._ Kurt had filled his basket with snacks before he finally tracked down the alarm clock he needed. He tucked it under his arm and made his way to the checkouts. He pulled up short.   
_Wait. No. That' *can't* be..._   
Katzchen was a check-out chick. The plastic smock did her absolutely no favours, flattening her physique and making her hips poke out.   
Remembering who he was playing today, Kurt went up to her counter and dumped his stuff.   
"Welcome to Saveways, how are you today?" Kitty chirped.   
_She's gonna get sick of saying *that* before sunset._ "Hallo," he said. "I am needing alarm clock." He smiled. "You prettygirl."   
Kitty's smile wound down a notch. "Yyyeah. Okay. I'm guessing you're new to the US?"   
Kurt nodded and smiled. "I speak not much English very bad..." he laughed. "I come in boat to you country. Is very nice. Everything here, *new*!"   
"Okay... That explains the major snack jones."   
"Snack jones?"   
"You bought a lot of snack foods," Kitty gestured with a packet of Doritos before beeping them through. Then she pointed to the bag *full* of snack stuff. "Snack jones."   
"Ha! Yes! I am buying snack jones." Kurt grinned.   
"Sort of." Kitty ran up the total. "That's twenty-four, thirty-seven. Have a nice day!"   
Kurt held out his wad of cash. "I am not knowing American money. You help?"   
"Oh-kay..." Kitty managed a nervous grin. "This one's a twenty, and these are ones; so I'll take twenty-five and give you sixty-three cents in change, okay?" She pressed the necessary buttons and handed him his change. "You gotta look for the *numbers* on the bills, okay?"   
"Yes. My thanks. Many thanks to prettygirl." He put the money away. "May you -er- have nice day, too." He picked up his bags. "Snack jones! Snack jones..."   
  
[1]Bet you thought it was going to be Trish, didn't you? {Note from editor: Guess who wrote this part.}  
~  
Kitty shook her head and turned to Aisle 5. "You get a lot of foreigners up here?"   
"In Rhode Island?" Valerie paused mid-scan. "Heck no."   
"Got any major ports?"   
"Ain't you from around here, girl?" the experienced cashier threw several items haphazardly into a bag. "I said this is *Rhode Island*. Providence. We *are* a port."   
"Sorry," Kitty blushed. "I'm from Illinois. Not exactly a big harbor state."   
"Hey!" A customer she hadn't noticed banged on the counter. "Can I get some service today?"   
  
Kurt had hit upon a pretty catchy tune for his snack-jones song, and so continued singing it most of the way home.   
"Snack jones, snack jones, the nicey-icey treat." Good, now it was permanently stuck in his head. "Snack jones, snack jones, the taste that can't be beat..."   
Kurt unlocked his door, turned off the image inducer, and put the chocolate ice cream in the complimentary refrigerator, noting that it was the second tub he had bought in as many days. The rest of the snacks disappeared into a drawer, except for the Yodels, which he ate.   
After de-chocolating his hands, he sat down to adjust his new pants.   
That finished to his satisfaction, he plugged in the alarm clock, eventually managed to get the settings right, and crawled into the queen-size bed for a nap before work.  
~  
"Your *nose* will find 'em, anh?"   
"Shuddup."   
"We've been walkin' for *miles*. My feet hurt."   
"Teach ya not to wear them heels, won't it?"   
Rogue groaned. "Can't we at least sit *down*? I'm gonna *fall* over in a second. And I need to *eat*..." She reached for her pocket.   
"I told ya I don't *need* that gadget, Stripes. Don't even *think* about usin' it."   
"Ah *also* got my *wallet* in this pocket. I'm goin' to get luch at that diner an' *you* can run around in circles for all I care."   
Logan grinned. "Awright. Maybe it *is* time for lunch."   
But Rogue was already halfway across the road.   
~  
"It was just too much of a coincidence...There are hardly any foreigners in Providence, and this guy had a *German* accent," Kitty stated to Poppy.   
"Katya, I'm worried about you," Poppy turned to her from his position at the fridge. She had just reviewed her entire first day on the job to him, but he hadn't really seemed to be listening. "Aren't you going to call the people you left? Who *are* the people you left? I've always wondered about this 'special school' your mother said she sent you to, wondered about the setup. Why would you need to go to a special school just to go to a public school in the same town? It just makes no sense..." He trailed off.   
Kitty took a deep breath, and made a decision. "I don't know how to tell you this, Poppy..." He looked up from his thoughts with a slightly horrified look. "I'm a mutant. Have you heard of this?" Shaking his head, he crossed the room and sat at the table. "It means I have a--a gene in my DNA, called the X-gene?" Poppy nodded. "It gives me a special ability. That's what the special school is for--to train me in this ability."   
"What sort of ability?" Poppy asked suspiciously.   
"Oh, nothing bad!" Kitty giggled nervously. "I can just walk through walls! See?" Without pausing, she phased her hand through the table between them.   
Standing up in alarm, Poppy stared at the spot Kitty's hand had passed through for a minute. Then he sat back down, still staring. "Well, Kitty, this is a shock," he said, looking back up at her. She looked at him with wide, worried eyes, afraid of rejection by her own grandfather. "But you're still Kitty. Come here," he waved her over and gave her a hug. "Now, about the people you left..."   
  
***   
  
"The Miss Providence Diner[1]," Rogue muttered as she walked into the small restaurant. "Geez."   
"Can I help you, miss?"   
Rogue glanced behind her at her teacher crossing the street (cursing as he went). "Table for two, please."   
"Sure!" said the server brightly. At that moment Logan crashed through the door, cursed one last time, and growled at the waitress who was helping them. She said, a little nervously, "Uh, right this way..."   
The two followed her through the busy restaurant to a booth, and they both were soon perusing the menus with hungry eyes (well, Logan had more angry eyes than hungry).   
  
Kurt saw them come in from the table in the corner of the room. He was on his lunch break, and as soon as he saw them, he started panicking. _Calm down, Kurt, just calm down,_ he told himself. _Remember, you're the foreign dude, not Kurt. As long as Logan doesn't_-- Logan chose that moment to sniff at the air. _Uh-oh._  
  
***   
  
[1] Based on a diner in my city, the Miss Worcester Diner. That's right folks--Worcester is the origin of the diner, and we're not gonna let people forget it.  
~  
"That *better* not be the food I smell," Logan said in a low voice.   
"Huh?" Rogue looked up from the menu.   
"You never absorbed me, did you?"   
"No," Rogue said guardedly.   
"Rahne?"   
"No. Why?"   
"Then you don't know," Logan's eyes scanned the other patrons. "Ain't nothin' else on this world smells like the Elf. He's been here...or *is* here."   
"Now?" Rogue turned to look at the tables behind her.   
"No, tomorrow," Logan rolled his eyes.   
The waitress came back at that moment. "Ready to order?" she asked cheerily.   
"Toasted bagel," Rogue said, closing the menu. "Dry. And a Coke."   
"Corned beef sandwich," Logan requested. "Fatty. And a beer."   
"Okay, coming in just a minute," the waitress smiled, clearing away their menus.   
"I don't see him," Rogue continued their conversation.   
"Could have just left," Logan glared at the waitress's back. "Or might be workin' in the kitchens."   
"Ew," Rogue wrinkled her nose.   
"Yeah, not that likely," he turned back to face her. "Elf's not stupid."   
  
A different waitress was working Kurt's part of the room. "Anything else?" she asked.   
"No, very good," Kurt grinned. "I pay?"   
"Yes," the waitress scribbled something on the check and put it down in front of him. "Pay at the counter."   
"Counter!" Kurt said enthusiastically. "One, two, three!"   
"No, over there," the waitress pointed to the cash register. "Pay him."   
"Ah, okay," Kurt nodded. "I pay him. Good."   
After she left, he went up to the cashier and repeated his routine of being unfamiliar with American money. He did this all in a loud voice, and with much gesticulating.   
_If you're loud, psychologically they don't notice you..._  
  
Logan, however, was not easily fooled, and noticed plenty. "Hey," he said as the Foreign Guy passed on his way to the door. "Do I know you?"   
  
Kurt hid entirely behind his new persona and grinned like a maniac. "Wonderful country, everyone friendly," he said, tugging down his sleeve to cover the incriminating watch.   
"You look familiar," Logan said.   
"I look at much," Kurt said agreeably. "Wonderful country, so much to see."   
"Where you from?"   
"Ah!" Kurt looked at the clock on the wall. "So much I still must be seeing! Bye-bye friendly man!"   
And he departed, at speed.   
  
"Well?" Rogue raised an eyebrow.   
"If that's not the Elf, it's someone who's been in mighty close quarters with fur-boy," Logan pronounced.   
"Then I guess we're following him."   
"You got it, Stripes."   
  
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Poppy asked, gently rocking Kitty on his lap.   
"I wanted you to think I was normal," she sniffed. "Guess I blew that, huh?"   
"I always love you, Koshka," he mumbled in her ear.   
"Stop it, you sound like Kurt," she reached for a tissue and wiped her eyes.   
"Who?"   
"A kid at the school. He thinks I'm his girlfriend or something," Kitty managed a small laugh.   
"Are you?"   
"No! Ew," she said to the memory of Kurt. "I like, always tell him to go away. I think I finally got him to listen, too."  
~  
Darnit, darnit, darnit and *rats*... He'd thought the cologne would be enough. And the garlic. But neither had worked. Logan had sniffed him out.   
Rats.   
_Okay. Other ways to disguise one's scent... Deoderant? May as well try it *with* the cologne. Shaving? *Ow*. Not after the last time I tried._ He shivered at the memory of the pain, of trying not to be a blue devil and hating himself because of Father Rosenbaum at St. Ulric's... The discovery of the extra nerves and hypersensitive muscles underneath the fur was secondary, almost forgotten. But not quite.   
Ach! He was leading them straight to his apartment. What was he *thinking*? Stupid boy. Stupid freak.   
Kurt ducked into an alley and bought his regular program up before he slouched against a wall in defeat. He was dead, in debt, and unloved, and he didn't know which hurt more.   
  
Logan was surprised he gave up. "Elf?" He smelled depressed.   
"Please don't take me back," he said.   
"Why shouldn't we? The whole Institute's in an uproar over you!" Rogue was nearing fury. "Do you have any idea how *worried* everyone is?"   
Kurt slouched a little more. "Worried that I won't come back?" he asked. "Or worried that I *will*?"   
"*What*?" Rogue blurted.   
"What the hell bit *you*?" asked Logan. "You *know* we want you back, Elf. Quit playin' the martyr and come on. We still gotta find the Half-Pint."   
Kurt stayed where he was. "Ja. Right. A team isn't a team without its *mascot*."   
"The hell?" said Logan.   
"You can't mean that," Rogue whispered. "You *can't*."   
"You remember that survey we all got? The web page one?" Kurt's voice was eerily level, almost dead. "I went back a week later to read what everyone had put in about themselves." A moment of silence, staring at the opposite wall. "Every single one of you put me down as your pet."   
"Ah added 'JK' - Just Kiddin'..." Rogue mumbled.   
"Many a true word is spoken in jest," said Kurt. "And Katzchen said it twice. I'm nothing more than a *freak*."   
_Oh,_ thought Logan. _Ouch. Elf's had a thing for Half-Pint from the get-go. That's gotta hurt._   
"That's not true," said Rogue. "You're our friend."   
Kurt turned off his holowatch. "Prove it," he said. "Walk beside me." He made for the mouth of the alleyway. To a public street.   
Rogue didn't move a muscle.   
Kurt stopped, still meters from a very public display. "Nein? I thought as much. Katzchen's had enough of freaks. She doesn't want to be one, either." He turned his 'Foreign Guy' hologram back on. "Do us both a favour and stop trying to drag us back to where we don't want to go."   
They were both left there, mouths hanging open, staring out the way he'd gone.   
"Fucking hell..." muttered Logan.  
~  
Time to leave. Time to get out of this Godforsaken place. Who was he kidding? Katzchen had had enough of him--hell, she hadn't had any of him, and that had been enough. Time to go pretend not to be a freak someplace else. Utterly depressed, Kurt slumped his way to the bus depot, the place where this whole stupid chase had begun.   
Slipping into the bathroom, he adjusted his hologram once again--he picked a random celebrity and modeled his features after him, making sure that the illusion looked a great deal older than he himself was. Then he turned it on and left to buy a ticket with one of his hellacious credit cards.   
_Someplace cold, maybe...not going to be comfortable in Arizona with all this fur._ Kurt sighed at the thought of what he truly looked like. The word "freak" popped into his head once again, and he knew it wasn't going to be leaving for quite awhile.   
  
***   
  
"So who do we go after? Kurt or Kitty?" Rogue was still staring in the direction Kurt had gone, but Logan had turned to his thoughts with a sour look on his face.   
"We'll go after Half-Pint. I have a feeling Fuzzy's gonna be heading to some place out of town--if we wanna follow him, we're gonna have to get Half-Pint while we're here, first." He took off toward the busy street with a grunt. Rogue followed, and saw him sniffing the air. "This way," he jerked his head and they began to follow the trail.   
  
***   
  
_This is a total *disaster,*_ thought Kitty, sinking to the floor of the employee bathroom in the supermarket. _I swear that lady had it in for me._ She had just been shamed in front of her boss by the biggest example of white trash she had seen in her short life. "No, Mr. Johnson--I was just going to ring up the coupons," she mimicked herself softly, voice echoing strangely in the filthy little room. Sighing, she pushed herself up off the ground and peered at herself in the dirt-covered mirror. There wasn't going to be a way of getting rid of that blush anytime soon...   
Making a face so as to prevent herself from crying, Kitty shoved the door open, nearly prepared to go back to her station (poor Valerie had done an impromptu take-over), when she suddenly spotted the two figures speaking to Mr. Johnson. With a gasp, she disappeared into the bathroom again.   
  
"Oh, you mean Ms. Privy--er, Ms. Pryde? Yes, she's just gone to the bathroom." He pointed. "Not my best employee--one of my worst, in fact. Just screwed up big time with one of the customers. I suspect she's gone off to cry," Johnson said clinically.   
"Yeah, yeah, thanks for talkin' to us and all that jazz," Logan pushed past him and Rogue gave the manager a look as she passed.   
"What did I say?" Johnson asked of his closest employee.   
  
"Kitty? We know you're in there! Come on out!" There was no response from behind the door.   
"Kitty, it's me, Rogue! Listen, whatever happened to make you want to leave, we're sorry! Please come out so we can talk!"   
The door opened slowly, and Kitty was crying when she emerged from the bathroom. One of the safety pins had fallen from her apron--she was looking rather disheveled. "What do you-" there was a choked sob "-want?"   
"Just to talk," said Logan, surprisingly softly. "You want to find someplace more comfortable?"  
~  
"What do you have?" Kurt asked when he got to the front of the line.   
The ticket-man pointed wordlessly to the departures board.   
"How about 6:30 for Portland?" His voice was dead, uncaring.   
"70 dollars," the man said.   
Kurt paid on a credit card, accepted the ticket, and sat down to wait.   
His suitcase, new clothes, and some uneaten food were still in the hotel room. He didn't care who found the strangely-tailored pants.   
He hadn't actually checked out either. He didn't care how many nights they charged him for.   
He'd already lost everything.   
  
They walked down the street to a little coffee shop, where Logan bought Kitty a steaming hot chocolate. She nursed it as she spilled out the whole story.   
"You tried to run away from Kurt?" Rogue said incredulously. "You know there's nowhere in this world he wouldn't follow you."   
"He's here, isn't he?" Kitty's eyes hardened. "I knew it!"   
"He was here," Logan said. "I think he may finally have given up."  
~  
Kurt got on the bus as soon as it was boarding, picked a seat towards the back and hid in a corner, staring out a window into the darkening streets. He should have gone back to his apartment and collected his things. He should have checked out.   
He should have appologised to his boss. Running away before his first day at work.   
But then - what was the point? He wasn't wanted anywhere.   
Someone threw a suitcase onto the seat next to him. The suitcase he'd bought. He looked up and saw Logan.   
"I thought I already told you to leave me alone."   
"If you're gonna run, ya gotta pack a few necessities," said Logan. "Found your room and put everything in there. It's better than haemorrhaging money buying new wherever you go. That, and even *your* credit cards can't last for long."   
"What do you care?" Kurt picked up the suitcase and held it to him. "I'm nothing to you but an annoyance."   
"Hell, yeah," said Logan. "You downright piss me off, sometimes. But that ain't no good reason to let you kill yourself. I've had enough of death."   
"And you've had enough of me," sighed Kurt.   
"'S'right," said Logan. "Ain't got time for cowards."   
Kurt studied him idly. "Reverse psychology isn't your forte, mein Herr."   
Logan cussed.   
"There's only one person who could even begin to try to bring me back," Kurt said. "You know who she is. And you know she doesn't want me."   
"Why've you gotta care what *she* thinks, Elf? There's plenty more fillies out there that'd take ya."   
"Name three who know what I really look like."   
Logan winced.   
"My point. Leave me alone, please." Kurt went back to staring out the window, not caring if he stayed or left.  
~  
Rogue surveyed her teammate as Kitty wrapped her hands around her mug and shivered. Her uniform didn't afford her much in the way of warmth, and it was getting cold, even inside the coffee shop.   
  
"Doncha care?"   
  
The question came out of the blue, and Kitty looked up, startled.   
  
"About what?"   
  
"Him." There was no need to elaborate who. Kitty knew very well whom Rogue meant, and her eyes became flinty.   
  
"No. Should I?"   
  
"Damn straight!" If Kitty's eyes were stone, then Rogue's were steel, and she glared at the younger girl with unabashed disgust.   
  
Kitty was unnerved, but tried not to show it. "I don't need him in my life, Rogue.He's to....I mean, I... I just wanna be, like...."   
  
"Normal?" Rogue hit the nail sqquarely upon the head and gave a harsh laugh. "A little late for that, doncha think?"   
  
"Not for me," Kitty retaliated, bristling.   
  
The goth sighed and took a swig of her own mug before perusing the slushy contents critically. The coffee here wasn't good, and several unidentifiable lumps were floating on the surface. "It's been too late since the day we were born, Kitty," she said softly. "It's always been too late for us."   
  
"I have a normal life right here!" Kitty's back straightened, and she flicked back a strand of hair that had worked its way out of the bun speared so carefully with what resembled a giant knitting needle. Standard issue. she'd forgotten to give it back.   
  
"What, stackin' shelves and hidin' out atcha Grandpappy's place? Yeah, this is a real great set up, ya got here, Kitty." Rogue took another mouthful ands grimaced as something distinctly un-coffee-like slid down her throat.   
  
"It's what other peope do."   
  
"But we ain't other people."   
  
"Stop it!" Kitty got to her feet and glowered at the other girl. "Don't you think I *know* that? For fifteen years I thought I *was* 'other people', and then *wham*! One fell swoop and I'm, like, someone else entirely. Not even that! I'm some*thing* else. I'm... I'm a.... freak!"   
  
"Ya wanna pipe down?" Rogue cast a wary glance at the other customers - a couple sharing an intimate embrace in the corner and a stressed looking businessman with his laptop open on the table in front of him and several empty pots of coffee signalling that he'd been here a while.   
  
Kitty opened her mouth to protest, but abruptly all the air went out of her and she sank back down into her rickety, squeaky chair with a sigh.   
  
Rogue shot her an odd look, and leaned forward. "Look, Kitty, Ah ain't sayin' this life's peachy, 'cause it ain't. Not by a *long* shot. But ya can't run from it, 'cause if there's one thing Ah've learned, it always catches up to ya. *Always*. Ah tried running' once. Didn't help me. Got me in a whole heap of trouble," she gave a wry smile at the memory.   
  
"But it don't want to be different," Kitty whimpered, "I want to be like everyone else."   
  
"Doncha think he feels the same way?"   
  
"Kurt's lived his whole life being different. He's used to it. I had fifteen years of normalicy taken away from me, Rogue. Poof," she clicked her fingers, "Like that."   
  
"Well that's a selfish attittude," Rogue leaned back again and folded her arms. "Kurt may've lived his life bein' different, but that don't make it any easier on him. He wants to fit in just as bad as you. Probably even more so."   
  
Kitty narrowed her eyes. "How'd you figure that?"   
  
"'Cause he never had the memory of normalicy to fall back on. We can remember what it what like and savour that memory. First day at school; first birthday party; first date; first kiss," she shook her head sadly, "Kurt doesn't have that luxury. Even in Heirelgart he was different. Odd. Out of place. The townsfolk accepted him, but he never reaaly fit in. He was alone. He's always *been* alone. And now he thinks he always will be, too."   
  
Kitty harrumphed; "Because of me?"   
  
Rogue sighed. "Because of us. All of us. I guess we never really understood what it was like to be *that* different. All of us had stuff up here to make it better," she tapped the side of her head, "But Kurt didn't, and he was always tryin' to make some new memories to *put* up here and savour the same way we do. But it never worked out. Even amongst freaks he was different. The odd one out." She studied the back of her gloved hand and curled it into a fist. Creases showed in the fabric, and she traced them all silently with her eyes, not taking in a thing.   
  
"But you're like me," Kitty pointed out, "*You* had you whole life, like, taken away when you... uh.... when you changed."   
  
Rogue nodded sombrely, "Yeah, I did. That's why Ah can see both side of the fence. Ah know how you think this... this runnin' away is gonna help, Kitty. But Ah also know what it'll eventually lead to. You really willin' to give up everything for this?" She gestured at the seedy interior of the cafe, with its flaking plaster and cracked ceiling tiles.   
  
A tired-looking woman stood behind the counter washing a few mis-matching mugs, and sighed as another customer clanked open the squeaky door, rolling off the same mantra 'Hi-there-what'll-it-be?' she'd been saying for most of her life and was thoroughly sick of.   
  
Two tables down the businessman hung his head and raised a hand, silently calling for more coffee. His hair was dishevelled, and there were so many worry-lines crinkling his features it was impossible even to imagine what he might have looked like in youth. The woman behind the counter brought a fresh pot, and he stared at it bleakly, the weight of the world heaped upon his drooping shoulders.   
  
In the corner the amorous couple engaged in another embrace, and the woman - considerably older than her cohort, it had to be said - slid a hand around the back of his head to pull him close, revealing a shiny gold wedding ring where he wore none.   
  
Through the smeary window figures walked past, hats pulled down and collars pulled up until the only thing visible were a barrage of cold, red noses. A child, wailing in its pushchair, swept by, its young mother looking more worn than a woman twice her age. A beggar sat out in the street, holding out a predominantly empty tin can and clinking it uselessly in an effort to make people notice him.   
  
Kitty turned back to Rogue, and the goth shifted to balance on the rim of her grime-encrusted seat, elbows on the tabletop. Her green eyes were serious, and the line of her mouth grim.   
  
"You willin' to break the fuzz-ball's heart for this? Is it really worth all that?"  
~  
Kitty stared into her cold, lumpy coffee for a long time. Across the table, Rogue resisted the urge to rush her, resisted the urge to tell her that if she didn't come to a decision right *now,* it was going to be too late.   
  
A few miles away, a bus for Portland, Maine was pulling out of the station.   
"Come on, Elf. Are we gettin' outta here, or what?"   
"Or what. You can go."   
  
In a desolate coffee shop, a pale, petite teenager wearing a makeshift supermarket uniform broke into tears.   
  
"Excuse me! Stop the bus! We're getting off."   
"I told you, I'm not going!"   
The bus screeched to a halt, two streets away from the bus station.   
  
"We have to find him," Kitty choked out. Rogue was quick to act, whipping out her communicator-watch. She pressed a few buttons.   
"Logan, we have to talk to Kurt," she spoke into the watch.   
"Gee, how'd ya ever know?" he responded dryly. There were a few sounds of the speaker being hit, and a distant-sounding "Nein!" and Rogue unclasped the watch and handed it to Kitty. Wide eyes watched from all around the coffee shop, as these two people were certainly making a scene.   
"Kurt, are you there? It's me," Kitty tried to keep the tears out of her voice.   
"Ja," came the bitter reply.   
"You can't go through with this, okay?" She didn't know quite how she knew what was going on--perhaps she'd picked it up through the conversation. "We love you--I love you--you can't leave. Please?"   
"How much did they pay you?"   
"What?"   
"How much did they pay you to say that?"   
The tears she'd been holding back came out. "Kurt, nothing! Nothing. I've been an idiot. Please--come home."   
"How do I know you really care?"   
"What can I say?" She sobbed openly now. "I've realized something: it's that you could be the best friend I've ever had...if I let you. Please? Don't leave?"   
There was a moment of quiet from the other end. Then a strangled, "Ja. I won't go. I'll see you in a little bit, Kitty."   
All the patrons of the coffee shop burst into applause as Kitty hit the button to sever the link. A faint smile was on Rogue's face, and Kitty sniffled and smiled through her tears [1].   
  
***   
  
[1] Like Robin Williams in every serious movie he's ever been in. Hee-hee-hee.  
~  
Logan was just about to debark the bus when his comm-watch beeped, signalling that someone had tuned into his frequency.   
"Logan, we have to talk to Kurt," came Rogue's voice.   
"Gee, how'd ya ever know?" he sighed, disengaging the watch from his wrist and offering it to Elf.   
"Nein!" Kurt said stubbornly, slapping away Logan's hand.   
"*Never* do that," Logan hissed. In an instant he had the kid dangling by the scruff of his neck.   
"Kurt, are you there?" Kitty's voice came over the line. "It's me."   
Logan shoved the watch into Kurt's face. "Ja," he said flatly, glaring at his captor.   
"You can't go through with this, okay?" Kitty said. Her voice was distorted, but she sounded close to tears. "We love you...I love you...you can't leave. Please?"   
"How much did they pay you?" Kurt asked scornfully.   
"What?"   
"How much did they pay you to say that?"   
"Kurt, nothing!" Kitty seemed really upset now. "Nothing. I've been an idiot. Please, come home."   
"How do I know you really care?" Kurt said, a note of suspicion in his voice.   
"What can I say?" Kitty paused, and the two men could hear her sniffle. "I've realized something; it's that you could be the best friend I've ever had, if I let you. Please? Don't leave?"   
"Hey!" the bus driver said with some annoyance. "You guys getting off or not?"   
Logan shot him a glare.   
"Ja," Kurt said into the watch. "I won't go. I'll see you in a little bit, Kitty."   
Logan released him, dropped the watch into his pocket, and stepped off the bus.   
"Honestly," said a lady seated behind the driver. "People get ruder and ruder."   
  
Kurt went willingly now, carrying his suitcase and following Logan back to the tiny coffee shop.   
The two men joined Kitty and Rogue at their table by the window.   
"You want anything?" Logan asked.   
Kurt eyed the menu. "Too expensive," he said.   
"Did I ask you to pay for it?" Logan said impatiently.   
Kurt crossed his arms resolutely.   
"Kurt," Kitty said. "I want to buy you something."   
"Why?"   
"Because I care about you and I don't want you to be hungry."   
"Fine," he relented. "You pick something."   
Kitty went to the counter and returned a moment later with a black-and-white cookie.   
"Danke," Kurt said stiffly, and made short work of the snack.   
"Come home with us?" Kitty asked.  
~  
Kurt looked at the crumbs on the table, not knowing what to say. "I've been nearly drowned in holy water," he began, voice quiet, "thrown away, chased away, shot at, beaten and burned... I've been held captive by the avaricious and the perverted alike, Katzchen. But nothing I've ever been through hurt as much as what you said. Twice."   
It still hurt. Hurt more than anything in the world. It hurt even more than the things he had done to himself.   
"I never thought I'd hear it from *you*. Even when you were afraid, you didn't say it. Not once." He huffed a brief, bitter laugh. "Or maybe not once in my hearing."   
He played with the crumbs, herding them together in a little pile.   
"It's an ugly word, and it leaves an ugly wound, Katzchen... If you ever said it again -- I'd die. I can stand it from the others. Ordinary people. 'Cause they don't know. They can't know what it's like. But you do. You know what it's like. You deny it, but you know."   
One by one, he picked up the crumbs and ate them.   
"I hurt, Katzchen. I hurt so much I - I can't even believe you said those three little words... Three words I wanted to hear since -- since I saw you. Remember? In the library? You barged right in and you said, 'Here I am' as if you owned the place. I said, 'I noticed'... I'd already fallen in love."   
All the crumbs were gone.   
"And then you screamed." He sighed, wiping his eyes. "I thought I'd never hurt that much again. Until last night."   
  
_Ouch._ Kitty had to remember to blink. To *breathe*. Rogue had been exactly right. Kurt *had* had a painful past. And no secure place, no family, or normalicy to fall back on.   
And he covered it all up with goofyness. He could still look up and find a bright patch of hope. A way out.   
Maybe because it was what he needed more than anything else in the world.   
"I am *so* sorry," said Kitty. "I'm so sorry. I was - angry. I was *annoyed*. I didn't wanna--- I didn't want to admit that I was wrong," her voice dropped to a murmur, "that I was being stupid."   
Kurt watched her.   
Kitty sniffed. "You were right. Lance wants to own people. I don't even think I was like, in love with *him*. I - I fell for the image of him. The wild rebel who could be tamed if he met the right girl... And all the time, I had the best person right next to me. An' I didn't wanna see."   
Kurt's eyes - his holographic ones - held a yearning, desperate, dare-I-hope expression.   
"I love you, Kurt," she said. "I'll say it twice if you want. I'll say it forever."   
"Would you walk beside me?" he asked. "As I really am? Without fear?"   
"I can't promise the 'without fear' part," said Kitty, "but only 'cause I'd be worried someone'd like, shoot you."   
"I've been shot before, liebe. It only hurts like hell."   
Kitty ducked her head, tears spilling and shoulders shaking. "Damn you for making me laugh..."   
"Gekommen sie," Kurt murmured, helping her up. "I know a better place than this for eating. Cheaper, too."   
Kitty linked her arm in his, seeing past the hologram to the delightful fuzzball beneath. Walking beside him as he really was, even though nobody else could see that. "Does it do vegetarian?"   
"Liebchen, it does anything - as long as it's deep fried."   
"Eeeeewwww... *Kurt*..."   
"Was? It won't hurt you. You need feeding up."   
  
Rogue watched them. Friends, and beyond friends. Together and complete. She sighed. _Not for me. Alas._   
"Jealous?" said Logan.   
"Hell yeah."   
"I wouldn't be," he said. "Elf's gotta work off his debt - and Half-Pint's got a probation coming."   
"Yeah. But they'll still be together. They'll still have each other. I can't have nobody."   
"Not yet," said Logan. "But you'll find a way. We all will."   
Rogue smirked. "Ah get by with a li'l help from mah friends?"   
"Exactly."  
~  
  
THE END 


End file.
